


A Place to Call Home

by pluperfecthell



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: 1 Sentence Fiction, Angst, Community: 1sentence, Community: 1sentencefic, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 10:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pluperfecthell/pseuds/pluperfecthell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just another day in the life of Commander Adara "Red" Shepard and Sere Thane Krios.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Place to Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> Re-posted from my tumblr. Some are serious, some are silly, there are canon-compliant moments, others are a little more AU, a few are connected, just as many aren't, and then there are the ones that aren't even specifically Shrios - but they all have to do with either of the two. Mentions of past Kaidan/Shepard. Beware of run-on sentences.

1) Air

Commander Shepard, Thane discovers, has the uncanny ability to steal his breath away - normally a cause for alarm; but, as Siha shoots him a smile reserved only for him, a smile he feels himself returning, Thane finds that he doesn't mind much at all.

 

2) Apples

Shepard is nothing if not devoted to her work - maintaining weapons, checking on the state of her crew, poring over stacks of paperwork and requisition orders – all of this, and more, during any available moment she can find - still, it doesn't mean she has to neglect basic necessities - _such as breakfast_ , Thane muses as he watches her fill out yet another stack of paperwork, quietly sliding a bright green apple across the table into her free hand.

 

3) Beginning

Shepard feels something settle in her gut when she sees Thane Krios' big, dark eyes settle on hers on that fateful day in Nassana Dantius' penthouse office, feels that this is the beginning of something new, something dreadful, something terrifying, something utterly amazing.

 

4) Bugs

For his part, when Thane finally meets Shepard face to face, when she meets his eyes with her cold red laser stare, he feels a shudder run through him, like insects crawling on his spine, and, for the life of him, he can't tell if it's apprehension – or anticipation.

 

5) Coffee

"Too strong, I’m assuming," Shepard remarks, hiding a smile as Thane coughs and splutters over her coffee - bitter like battery acid and strong enough to wake the dead, muttering something about “poison” and “no sense of taste!”

 

6) Dark

It is the darkness in which Shepard feels most comfortable - something she's felt since she was old enough to hold a weapon, something most of her associates never seemed to understand, something Kaidan, kind, good man that he is, never seemed to understand - so maybe it wasn't such a surprise when she found herself a kindred spirit in Thane, someone who was as at home in the dark as she was.

 

7) Despair

Shepard thought she knew what despair was - a child, living on the streets of Earth, alone and wondering if she would live to see the next day; a soldier, sending herself and her unit to die a miserable death on Torfan, only to remain the last one standing; a Commander disgraced, watching her God-forsaken home razed by machines of unimaginable horror - but it's not until Shepard sees Thane _-_ _étoile de ma vie_ \- draw in his last breath in a stark, empty hospital room that Shepard, a woman in love, knows what true despair is.

 

8) Doors

They've just had their first fight - their first actual _real_ fight - and for once, Shepard wishes she was back in the slums - at least they had hinged doors that she could slam.

 

9) Drink

It comes as a surprise to find out that Sere Thane Krios, most feared assassin in the galaxy, is a complete lightweight when it comes to drinking, and as Thane rests his head on her shoulder and drunkenly declares his undying love for her (and Garrus, and Jacob, and the bartender, and the dancers...) in the busy nightclub, she can only hope, with only some amusement, that he won't be _too_ embarrassed come morning.

 

10) Duty

Shepard stares at Thane's lifeless form on the bed, eyes closed as if in slumber, and wishes that she could lie there with him, close her own eyes and sleep forever - but there are people depending on her, thousands, millions, billions, and she'll be damned if she lets someone else carry this burden, lets someone else suffer what she has suffered - it's not their duty to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

 

11) Earth

Shepard will never admit to missing the shit hole that was called Earth - "Did a lot of traveling - hitchhiking, bribing, stowing away in cargo holds - hated almost every place I ended up on..." - but when Thane expresses an interest in seeing a desert, her Extra-Net searches _coincidentally_ end up looking like a travel agency specializing in Earth deserts and locales.

 

12) End

A suicide mission is what they called it - even she had called it that, in the beginning - not anymore, she thinks, as she stares at Thane, sleeping so peacefully next to her, _this won't be the end of anything - not if I can help it._

 

13) Fall

They called it "falling in love", and Shepard would agree the phrase was apt when it came to her past paramours - but with Thane, well, she didn't know what about him was different, but "falling" for him just wasn't the right way to describe it.

 

14) Fire

There's a light in her eyes that Garrus has never seen before - not when she was made Spectre, not when the truth of Sovereign and the Reapers was revealed, not even when she was with Kaidan, - and he's not exactly sure what's stoked the flames, but he's willing to bet that a certain dark eyed, leather-clad assassin, sipping tea in the mess with Shepard sitting across from him, filing paperwork, has something to do with it.

 

15) Flexible

It's Siha's turn to get ridiculously drunk tonight, apparently, as she not so subtly smacks Thane's rear and drunkenly orders him to, "find us a supply closet so we can test out my reach and your flexibility, Thane!"

 

16) Flying

It's not "falling" in love, Shepard realises, as Thane grabs her hand and pulls her into the shuttle, just in time to watch the Collector Base get blown sky high - it's flying.

 

17) Food

Having enough food to eat was a luxury Shepard never had as a child - something that was mortifyingly apparent, as her fellow grunts watched in morbid fascination as she wolfed down her meal as if it was going to run away from her - something that has stayed with her long after the fact, as she discreetly pushes her untouched meal onto Jack's already empty plate.

 

18) Foot

For a soldier, a charging bull storming into the thick of battle, Shepard is surprisingly light on her feet, as Thane, unseen, watches his Commander walk the edge of an invisible circle in the cargo bay, the smooth coil/uncoil of her elegant, spiraling movements reminding him more of a leaf in the wind than of a raging bull.

 

19) Grave

 Leaving behind an unmarked grave on some backwater planet wasn't part of her plan, but as she looks at Thane's handsome face, hears his beautiful voice - _"Siha, stay awake, you're not going to die, the rest of the team will find us, please Siha, please"_ \- for what is probably the last time ( _"Etoile de ma vie... que tu est belle..."_ ), she finds herself relieved.

 

20) Green

Nobody's stupid enough to mention or ask about the switch from red to green LED lights on Shepard's hard suit after Cerberus' coup on the Citadel - they all knew why, in any case.

 

21) Head

"I find his loyalty to the Alliance admirable, I guess," Shepard says begrudgingly to Garrus, downing her fifth glass in half as many hours in one smooth motion; "But maybe if he had his head screwed on straight, he'd realize that those pieces of shit aren't going to be the ones to stop the Reapers - and he'd be here with me," she continues, a little drunkenly and a lot bitterly, as she signals the bartender for another.

 

22) Hollow

Shepard hopes that she's healed the hollow, broken part of Thane's heart, at least a little - he's healed the hollow, broken part of hers, after all.

 

23) Honor

"You are cheating, Siha," Thane says in mock protest, as Shepard tightens her grip around his wrists; "Once a thug, always a thug - and there's no honor amongst thugs," she says in response, as she lowers herself down against him and swivels her hips slowly, making him gasp.

 

24) Hope

Shepard lost her belief in any higher being or afterlife long ago, but as she replays Thane's last message to her - _"We are alive, Siha... and when we are not, I will meet you across the sea,"_ she hopes that at least her last dying thought will be of him.

 

25) Light

"Étoile de ma vie," she mumbles absently, and Thane blinks, tilts his head in confusion; Shepard blushes - she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

 

26) Lost

But it made sense - he lit up her life, and she knew that as long as she could find him, she'd never be lost.

 

27) Metal

Siha has a strange fascination with the silver torque he wears around his neck - toying with it, tracing the patterns, yanking it in particularly heated trysts in Life Support - still, it's a bit odd when she requests he wait for her in her personal chambers with it on - he wears it all the time, after all -- "...and nothing else," she adds, smiling a wolf's smile.

 

28) New

Shepard holds in her protests when Thane, in his new armor, asks for her opinion: - _red and black together is really tacky - sunglasses, are you fucking kidding me - piercings... well, those aren't bad, I suppose..._ \- "If you like it, I say go for it," is what she says instead, somewhat begrudgingly - the kiss on the cheek she received in response almost made how completely fucking ridiculous he looked worth it.

 

29) Old

She's never envied the Asari and their long lifespans - one thousand plus years of outliving friends, watching civilation repeating the mistakes of their forefathers wasn't exactly what she called a good life - but she never thought a normal human lifespan would become a problem - of course, this was before she met Thane, who seemed destined to die before her, even without Kepral's shortening his life.

 

30) Peace

Maybe it's sad and pathetic - no, she _knows_ it's sad and pathetic - but, as she sits in the dark, empty Life Support room – no light even in his old room, how apropos - clutching the chipped mug that Thane had been so fond of, she feels at peace.

 

31) Poison

She's disappointed, just a little, that the toxins in Thane's saliva only left her lips and tongue tingling and didn't actually get her high - but, as he plants a kiss on her lips that leaves her breathless and gasping for air, she decides that she'd much rather be completely sober when experiencing something like _that._

32) Pretty

The human men on the Normandy seem besotted with the sight of Shepard, clad in a short leather cocktail dress and impractically tall heeled shoes, and Thane will admit that the sight of her in such an ensemble has a certain appeal - but, in his not so humble opinion, his Siha is never more beautiful than when she is equipped with her armor, biotics flaring and weapon drawn, ready to protect the innocent and punish the unjust.

 

33) Rain

The two are intimately acquainted with rain and humidity, growing up in their respective cities' environments, but it doesn't mean they like it - still, as they huddle together around the warmth of their fireplace, in their cozy little home out in the middle of nowhere, protected against the rage of the heavens above, they can't think of any other place they would rather be.

 

34) Regret

"Don't talk to me - you're not the man I fell in love with, you're a goddam fucking coward - I don't associate with cowards," Shepard spits out the words like they're poison before storming out, and she knows she'll regret it all later, but right now, seeing him sitting in Huerta, watching him die without a fuss, is too much for her to take.

 

35) Roses

So when Thane shows up at her chamber doors not long after the fact, a large bouquet of white and red roses in his hands - "I am told that these colors together signify a plea for forgiveness, Siha," - and how the fuck did he find roses on the Citadel - she can't help falling into his arms, angry, hurt, regretful tears running down her face.

 

36) Secret

Shepard stares at Thane's sleeping form a moment longer, then leans down to kiss his cheek; "I think I'm in love with you," she whispers, content in the knowledge that her secret was safe with him.

 

37) Snakes

"Thane, are you scared of this little guy," Shepard asks, only slightly disbelieving, the legless reptile winding down her arm and settling its head on her shoulder as if it belonged there; "I don't see what's the big deal, you two are probably fucking related or something."

 

38) Snow

"It's beautiful, Siha," Thane says, staring out the window into a world blanketed in white - but Shepard just barks out an unamused laugh; "Yeah, it's pretty now, but you're still inside - wait until you're out there, shoveling that shit up - you'll hate it soon enough."

 

39) Solid

"Doctor Solus did say that you should avoid solid foods, Siha," Thane chides gently, patting her back and holding her hair as she retches into the toilet; Siha raises her head just long enough to gift him with a long-suffering, withering glare before she's emptying the rest of the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl.

 

40) Spring

"Spring, I guess," Shepard says, voice sharp as knives, but demeanor anything but, and Kaidan wisely, mercifully lets the subject of birthdays drop.

 

41) Stable

She knows that Thane isn't a "safe" choice or a "stable" choice or even a "normal" one, and at one point, she might have cared - but she knows that for as long as he's able to, he'll be there for her, and, for now, that's good enough for her.

 

42) Strange

"It's not strange - and if it is, well, fuck them - we're the newlyweds here, so we can do whatever the fuck we want," Shepard says, laying her head on Thane's shoulder, the two happily snuggling in their corner, sitting out another song at their own wedding reception.

 

43) Summer

Shepard hates the heat - even with growing up in a city where temperatures could soar up towards the thirties, she hates it - still, she thinks she can learn to enjoy it, smiling faintly as she watches Thane bask in the heat like a lizard on a hot rock, clearly enjoying himself.

 

44) Taboo

Kasumi has no qualms with spying on people, even people she likes - the better to spy on them, it's in her blood, after all, and really, what's a little petty theft between friends - but when she sees Shepard and Thane sitting in some hidden away corner of the shuttle bay - Thane resting his head on her shoulder, Shepard humming some sweet little tune and both of them not looking quite so hollow and broken and _sad_ like it has when they think nobody is looking - Kasumi thinks, for the first time, that she has stumbled upon something that's too private, and slips away as quietly as she came in.

 

45) Ugly

The first time Thane sees Shepard drunk, she throws her arms around his neck and loudly thanks him for choosing to be with her and not someone prettier, like Miranda or Samara; Thane is completely at a loss, for as pretty as they are, when put against his Siha's beauty, they are ugly by comparison.

 

46) War

"Go out there and give them hell - you were born to do this," Garrus says, and she knows that he means to be encouraging - all she can think is how war is the only thing she was meant to do.

 

47) Water

Shepard thinks it must be some sort of great cosmic joke, how the Drell were saved from their arid world only to be condemned to a slow, painful death on a new aquatic one, and she wonders, with some admiration and amazement, how Thane can face so many cruel ironies with such dignity and composure.

 

48) Welcome

When Shepard comes home from "one last job" as "a favor to the Alliance" - but mostly to Kaidan - she is greeted with soft, sweet kisses from a loving husband, and two bone-crushing hugs from two eager little children, she thinks that if all her "welcome homes" are like this, she should go away for "one last job" more often.

 

49) Winter

"I can see little Irikah loves the winter as much as her parents," Shepard says, her voice dry with amusement, as Thane holds their tiny infant girl - exactly as his Siha must have looked when she was a baby - up to the window where soft, feather-light snowflakes fall from the sky, only to let loose a loud, distressed screech.

 

50) Woods

Shepard holds Thane's jacket close to her, burying her face in the leather, and the smell of spice and moss and deep forests nearly overwhelms her - because as pathetic as it makes her, the scent of his jacket - the scent of him - has become synonymous with home - and his jacket – the only thing she has left of him – is the only home she has left.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr under the name [whotaughtyougrammar](http://www.whotaughtyougrammar.tumblr.com/) or at my ask-blog, [commander-adara-red-shepard](http://www.commander-adara-red-shepard.tumblr.com/).


End file.
